LATE REVIEW: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

30Sep

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen, time for another film review and today I’m finally gonna be talking about Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, I was meant to see this opening weekend at the latest, but working and timing with my sister had prevented me from seeing it sooner. I really liked The Maze Runner last year, it was a much better film than I expected and even though a sequel was laid out for us at the end of that film, I was curious to see where the next chapter in this series would go. So fast forward a year and now we have The Scorch Trials, so is the film good or bad, well read on and find out!

The story can be described as the following:

“After having escaped the Maze, the Gladers now face a new set of challenges on the open roads of a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles.”

I thought the story was good. Scorch Trials isn’t a rehash of the last film, instead it expands into the larger world with these special facilities and remnants of former cities where society have chosen to live. This film expands the mythology of the world, gives more context on the Flare virus and what’s needed to cure it and explores the history of Thomas and his involvement with WCKD. There was a lot of drama, tension and trust issues between not only the Glade people, but also amongst themselves. That being said there wasn’t too much that was significant or amazing about this story, and those who weren’t into the first film probably won’t care for this entry in the series either.

As for the cast let’s start with Dylan O’Brien who was good as Thomas, in this film Thomas is still the main source of a lot of the drama, mystery and danger that goes on in these films, but he’s also dubious of people trying to help him, wants answers to his past and wants to help people affected by WCKD’s schemes. I also liked Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt and Ki Hong Lee as Min Ho, both of them had some good moments to shine and be important, especially when it comes to Min Ho (my boy). I also enjoyed Dexter Darden as Frypan, and Alexander Flores as Winston. Kaya Scodelario did well as Teresa Agnes, her character was a little quiet and insignificant at first but then she became much more interesting later on. Also Jacob Lofland as Aris Jones was my favourite new character to come out of this film because of his resourceful nature and slightly odd interactions with people.

Then there’s Rosa Salazar and Giancarlo Esposito who were great as Brenda and Jorge, these two have a history together and I liked how they factored into the story and their interactions with Thomas were great too. Aidan Gillen as Janson, wow, this guy is charming, relaxed and full of info, but he’s also an undercover douche and you can tell from the beginning that something’s off with him. Gillen is just great at playing the bad guy and he does that very well in this film. Patricia Clarkson returns as Ava Paige and she’s just as cold-hearted and into her work as ever, and I enjoyed Lili Taylor’s performance as Mary Cooper, this character helped give more information about the world and connected more pieces about Thomas’ past. Alan Tudyk makes an appearance as Marcus and his character is pretty strange but very funny and enjoyable, Tudyk is just a guy that makes me smile and I love it when he has a memorable appearance in a film. And when it comes to the presentation, its good. Visually the film is good with some nice scenery, visual effects and action sequences too.

In conclusion Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is different kind of film from the last one, however it is different in the right kind of way. The story is interesting, the performances are good and the action is pretty good. While it won’t convert people who were’nt fans beforehand, I believe that this is another solid film in this series and I hope that it’ll get a solid conclusion with the next film.

Rating: 7.5/10

So what did you think of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them below and let me know. Until the next time, see ya later! 😀